Ariadne
by Snow Phoenix
Summary: Ariadne Fortuna moves from Durmstrang to Hogwarts and brings the dark side of the school with her. R&R please! Chapters 7 and 8 now uploaded! Check back for updates :)
1. Chapter 1

There was definitely something odd in the air in the back of the taxi, carrying Ariadne Fortuna, her parents Alexander and Helena, and all of Ariadne's school things back to their townhouse in the centre of Oslo. Something... not quite right. Ariadne couldn't quite put her finger on it. Well, there had been a couple of strange things actually. 

Firstly, Ariadne had been met at the train station by both of her parents. Her father would usually come alone to collect her, while her mother tidied the house. This was something of a family joke, as Helena's housekeeping was flawless, with never so much as a single speck of dust out of place. 

Secondly, the three of them were travelling home in a taxi. Ariadne's father had a very good car - well ok, not wonderful, but it was at least roadworthy. And when he was travelling around muggle towns, he always used it, so as not to seem out of place. 

However, the Fortuna family could not have looked more out of place in the train station if they had tried. Ariadne had met her parents pushing a large trolley, upon which was an oversized trunk bearing the initials AF in gold, and an enormous cage, containing a large, slightly ruffled snowy owl by the name of Nivosus. 

Her parents didn't fit in much either. Her father had at least tried to dress in muggle clothes, but hadn't got it exactly right. He had teamed a lilac coloured shirt with a pair of pinstriped trousers, underneath his large black cloak. At least he had tried however. His wife had simply refused to don muggle clothing, claiming that she was very proud of what she was, thank you very much, and didn't care how many people stared at her. Due to this, she had arrived dressed in floor length royal blue robes, and a fir trimmed white cloak. 

There was a simple reason for the abnormalities within the family. Ariadne was a witch. Her mother and father were a witch and wizard, and Ariadne had just returned from Durmstrang School of Magic for the summer holidays. 

Ariadne had been born in England, and had only moved to Norway when she was seven and her father had been appointed British Ambassador to the Norwegian Ministry of Magic. When she was eleven, Ariadne had begun her magical education at Durmstrang, and lived at school for most of the year, returning only for the holidays. 

Ariadne was fourteen now, and loved school. She had known she was a witch ever since she was born and had looked forward to attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ever since her cousin had started there. She had been upset when they had moved, but then started to read up about Durmstrang and decided she didn't mind too much after all. 

The tense silence in the back of the taxi eventually became too much for Ariadne, who was not a quiet girl. She decided to voice some of her confusion. 

'Dad, what's happened to your car?' Ariadne asked. 

'Erm.... well, it's.... erm...' Alexander tailed off. 'Erm, it's gone.' 

'Gone? Gone where? You haven't crashed it again have you?' Alexander's driving was far from perfect, as shown by the number of dents and scratches in his car. 

'No I haven't crashed it,' he replied. 'I just don't have it anymore. I'll be getting a new one when...' he tailed off again. 

'When what?' Ariadne persisted. 

'Never mind,' her father muttered. 

Feeling even more confused than she had done before, Ariadne turned to her mother. 

'Mum, how come you're not at home, dusting and hoovering Smudge up off the carpet?' Smudge was the family's overweight black and white cat. His fur was very long and had a nasty habit of falling out in large clumps exactly where Helena had just finished vacuuming. 

'Oh, I just wanted to get out of the way, you know, let them get on with it. I put an anti-theft spell on our things and left them to it.' 

But Ariadne didn't know. 'Let who get on with what?' she questioned, now getting desperate to find out what was going on. 

Her question was soon answered. As the taxi pulled into their road, she saw an large lorry sitting in front of their house - a removal lorry. Printed on the side of the bright blue vehicle in big gold letters were the words 'The Magical Moving Company - anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes.' 

Climbing out of the car, Ariadne turned to face her parents, a look of complete shock on her face. 'Does anyone want to explain what's going on?' she asked. 

'Well,' her mother began, 'your father's got a new job!' 

'Oh,' said Ariadne. 'Where, what as?' 

'I've been asked to take over the position of Head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation, as the last guy... disappeared at the end of last year.' 

Ariadne could relate to this. Her headteacher at Durmstrang, Professor Karkaroff, had gone to Hogwarts with a group of 6th and 7th year students this year, but had not returned. All of the students had been informed that 'due to unforeseen circumstances, Professor Karkaroff would not be returning to Durmstrang next year, and a new replacement would be arriving shortly.' No one seemed to know where he had gone. 

'So where are we moving to?' Ariadne asked. This was just one of thousands of questions that had been pounding through her head. 

'We're going back to England, probably just outside London,' her father told her. We wanted to get the move over with as soon as possible, because they need me over at the Ministry urgently. And also it'll give you plenty of time to settle in before going back to school.' 

'But I'll still be going to Durmstrang, won't I?' Ariadne was sure some of the worry that was rapidly forming in the pit of her stomach had shown through in her voice. 

'Well...' her mother's voice faltered. 

Ariadne's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. 'You mean to say, that I'm going to have to leave Durmstrang? You can't do this to me!' she cried. 'Where am I going to go, what about all my friends?' 

'Calm down Ariadne,' said Alexander soothingly. 'We've spoken to Professor Dumbledore at Hogwarts, and he's agreed to let you start there in the fourth year in September.' Seeing her face, he realised she would need some convincing. 'Don't you remember sweetheart, how you always wanted to go to Hogwarts? Ever since Linzi went there when you were little?' Linzi was Ariadne's cousin. 

'I was five when Linzi started at Hogwarts!' Ariadne yelled. 'A lot's changed since then! I don't want to go to Hogwarts, I don't want to move back to England, and you can't make me! 

With a bang, the wand Ariadne was clutching in her hand went off like a firework. It sent sparks flying into the air, all of the taxi's windows smashed and the car alarm started wailing. Ariadne ran full pelt into the house, her long blonde hair flying out behind her, tears filling her deep blue eyes. 


	2. Chapter 2

Ariadne had always felt her room gave her a sense of peace whenever she was in it. If she was upset or stressed about anything, she just shut herself in her room for a while and soon calmed down. 

However, that was when her room was full. When she ran into it today, it contained her bed, her now near-empty wardrobe, her desk (devoid of all the clutter that usually covered it) and several large boxes. Her bookcase, usually full to bursting with books on every subject under the sun, had been taken down to the van already, and the lettering on a big cardboard box in the corner informed her that her books had already been packed. Her posters of the Norwegian National Quidditch Team were rolled up in a corner, and the photographs of her friends from school were in an envelope on her bedside table. 

Ariadne couldn't bring herself to even open the envelope. The sight of her friends, smiling and waving at her from the photographs would be too much to take. Ariadne had never had a best friend, but she was part of a large group of friends who all went around together, and she was equally close to all of them. To think that she would probably never see them again made her throw herself down on her bed and sob. They couldn't do this to her, couldn't take her away, not now. 

Besides anything else, she was loving her studies, and doing well in them. Her favourite subject was the Dark Arts. She loved messing about with curses, jinxing her friends... Ariadne's train of thought turned to a book she had been given when she was little; 'Hogwarts; A History'. It was an enormous volume, and she had never read it from cover to cover, but one thing she had noticed stuck out vividly in her mind; Hogwarts didn't teach the Dark Arts. It only taught defence against them. 

Ariadne choked down a sob in her throat. She wouldn't even be able to continue her studies in full at Hogwarts! This was getting worse by the minute. They couldn't take her dark arts away from her, it was the best subject at school, she had to carry on learning them or... 

She stopped. So what? It was just another subject. She couldn't even remember why she had been getting so worked up about it. That was all it was, she reasoned with herself. Just another subject. 

A loud knock on the door made her jump. 'Ariadne dear,' came her mother's voice. 'Come on darling, we need to talk.' Reluctantly, Ariadne swung herself off her bed, dried her eyes and opened the door. 

When she got to the living room, she found her mother and father sitting on the sofa waiting for her. Their expressions were filled with sympathy as she sat down. 

'Ariadne, we know this will be hard for you,' her father began, 'but I'm needed in London. I'm sure you'll like Hogwarts, once you get used to it, and I see nothing wrong with you coming to visit your friends here in the holidays. I just need you to support me on this.' 

'I do support you Dad,' said Ariadne. 'I just wish you'd sent me an owl to tell me about this. It was a bit of a shock to come home and find half of my things in boxes.' 

'I'm sorry,' Alexander said. 'How about this; when we've settled in, we'll go all round the sights of London on one of those muggle tour buses, like we used to when you were little.' 

Ariadne smiled. She and her father had done this before they moved, watching all the muggle tourists, laughing at wizard tourists pretending they were muggles, fumbling with muggle cameras and pretending they knew the difference between a £5 note and a £50. 

'I thought you'd like that,' Alexander grinned. 'If you look carefully from the plane tomorrow, you might see some of the sights as we fly in.' 

'Tomorrow?' Ariadne was confused again. Surely they couldn't be leaving yet, not straight away. She'd only just got back from school, she hadn't got used to the idea yet. They couldn't uproot her straight away, could they? 'Please tell me you're joking.' 

She looked pleadingly at her parents, but their faces told her all she needed to know. 'Fine,' she snapped, trying to keep her voice steady. 'Just uproot me, move me halfway across Europe, take me away from all my friends and don't even give me a chance to say goodbye! Just see if I care!' 

She almost screamed these last words. The room shook as if it had been hit by a small earthquake. A rumbling sound came from the direction of the chimney. Suddenly, an avalanche of soot flew out of the fireplace, covering the room in thick black dust. Everything from the beige coloured carpet to the off-white curtains, including Helena's pristine white cloak and the lighter patches of Smudge's fur were blackened as soot filled the room. For the second time that day, Ariadne fled from her parents in tears. 

Once in her room again, Ariadne began to berate herself in her head for losing her temper again. Her temper was a very sore spot within the family. The taxi and the chimney were nothing. When she was told she couldn't go to Hogwarts with her cousin Linzi, she had blown the roof off the house. This had required the assistance of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and several memory charms on muggles to fix. However, this had been without the aid of a wand. In a Norwegian museum she had been dragged to by her parents, she had made a priceless chandelier fall on the head of the ancient curate, who had told her to 'stop prodding the paintings with that funny stick thing' (she had been trying to make the figures move). 

Then there was the time at the beginning of last year when she'd found out that she was too young to enter the Triwizard Tournament, having set her heart on it. She had been so angry at the refusal that she had made every single dinner plate in the hall shatter, sending food from the start of term feast flying across the room. She had nearly been expelled for that one. 

Sadly it seemed that now, like all the other times, losing her temper would have no effect on her parent's decision. She would be moving to London tomorrow and there was nothing she could do about it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Three weeks later, Ariadne found herself walking down the long cobbled street that was Diagon Alley, her mother by her side, reading from a long list that had been sent by Professor Dumbledore. He had been anxious for her to get some of the books from classes lower down the school so she could catch up a bit, particularly in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which she had never studied before, and Transfiguration, which she was terrible at. 

As she was herded into a very busy bookshop, which bore the name 'Flourish and Blotts' on the sign above the door, she thought about everything that had happened over the last three weeks. It didn't feel like three weeks had passed since she had left Norway. The time had flown past, which was not a good thing. Every day that went meant she was another day close to starting Hogwarts. She wasn't going to know anyone there, not even Linzi would be around as she had left a few years before and gone to work with a release programme for injured unicorns in Australia. It was hard enough starting at a new place, but to be starting there after 3 years - everyone else would have their own friends and groups and she would be a complete outsider. 

And then there was the sorting. Ariadne had read up about this in 'Hogwarts; A History'. All of the first years had to be sorted in front of the entire school. If she had to go up there with them, she would look ridiculous and lose the respect of her peers before she had even gained any. 

'Come on Ariadne, don't dawdle.' Helena's voice shook Ariadne out of her thoughts. Somehow, while she had been lost deep in her memories of the last three weeks, a large brown package containing ten or so books had appeared and was now floating innocently at her mother's side. They walked out of the shop and into the busy street, the books hovering alongside them. 

As they strolled towards Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions to buy Ariadne's school uniform, there was a loud 'Ouch!' from somewhere to Helena's left. They turned around to see that the book parcel had started to drift off on its own in the opposite direction, no doubt bored with floating along doing nothing and wanting to go back to the shop. They had hit a small, plump woman with bright red hair, who was just heading in their direction when she had been hit by the guilty parcel. 

'Oh my goodness I'm so sorry!' cried Helena, running over to help the woman. As she looked down, she gasped slightly, and realisation dawned over her face. 'Molly? Molly Weasley?' she said incredulously. 

'Helena!' the woman jumped up with an exclamation of delight, forgetting all about her injury as she enveloped Ariadne's mother in a tight hug. 'I haven't seen you in years! Last I heard you were still over in Norway!' 

'We moved back,' said Helena, before launching into an explanation of Alexander's new job. 

'Well I never...' Mrs Weasley's gaze had now turned to Ariadne. 'This can't be little Ari - why I haven't seen you since you were seven years old - haven't you grown! Come here darling.' And with that, Mrs Weasley pulled Ariadne into a chokingly tight hug as well. 

'Ariadne's going to be starting at Hogwarts in a few weeks time,' said Helena. 'She must be the same age as Ginny - maybe they'll be in the same classes!' 

'Oh of course, I'd forgotten they were the same age,' said Mrs Weasley. 'I'll have her look for Ari on the train, then at least she'll know someone! They might even be in the same house, you know, because Alex was a Gryffindor wasn't he... so I suppose Ari might be as well... or of course she could be a Ravenclaw like you were...' 

Ariadne sighed. She felt as if she had been excluded from the conversation, and it was now merely about her as if she wasn't there. If Mrs Weasley called her 'Ari' one more time she was going to scream! 'Ari' had been her childhood nickname and as soon as she had started school, she'd dropped it completely. 

And then there was Ginny Weasley. Ariadne remembered her from when they had been forced to play together as children. Ginny had been painfully shy and no fun whatsoever, so Ariadne had soon become bored with her. If she was forced to become friends with her and hang around her at Hogwarts there would be trouble... 

'Ariadne, Molly and I are going to go and have some coffee together,' said Helena, breaking through Ariadne's thoughts again. 'You'll be ok buying your robes won't you? Here's some money.' She pushed a few galleons into Ariadne's hand and turned to walk away with Mrs Weasley. 

'Yes, bye!' called Mrs Weasley. 'I'll tell Ginny to go and find you on the train Ari!' 

Ariadne turned away seething. As she walked towards the robe shop her wand gave a small glint, and she heard several cries of pain from behind her. She turned, and saw that the parcel had split open, sending the books it had been carrying flying in all directions and hitting several people. Two had fallen on Mrs Weasley's foot. 

'Ooops,' muttered Ariadne as she walked into the shop. 


	4. Chapter 4

Before Ariadne knew it, September 1st had arrived and she was on her way to Hogwarts. Ariadne was determined to find fault with everything, and had so far complained about the platform and its enchanted barrier, the crowds of people on the platform, and the height of the step up to the train itself, which had caused some problems when lifting up her trunk. The cage containing her owl Nivosus had come flying off the top of the trunk where it had been precariously balanced, and had rolled off down the platform. Nivosus was now sitting grumpily in her cage with her back to Ariadne. 

'Great,' she muttered. 'Even my owl won't talk to me. That's a great start.' 

Suddenly, the door to the compartment where she was sitting alone opened. Ariadne looked up from her book to see a small, red-haired girl look around it at her. 

'Hello,' the girl said. 'Are you new? I've not seen you around before.' 

Ariadne ignored her and looked back at her book. The girl mistook her quietness for shyness. 'There's no need to be shy,' she said. 'I used to be shy, but I've made loads of friends at Hogwarts and they've really helped me. I'm Ginny Weasley by the way.' 

Ariadne had guessed this already. She had also guessed that Ginny knew exactly who she was, but didn't want to let on that she knew. 

'Are you Ariadne Fortuna?' Ginny asked eventually, confirming Ariadne's suspicions. Ariadne gave the smallest of nods, hoping that if she was reclusive enough Ginny might go away. Sadly it didn't work - Ginny came and sat down next to her. 

'What are you reading?' she asked, peering at the cover of the book. 'Oooh, I read that a couple of years ago. It's a first year book though... oh, you must be reading it to catch up with the things you've missed. My mum told me you've never studied Defence Against the Dark Arts before.' 

'No, I haven't,' said Ariadne coldly. 'And if I have any chance of catching up, I need some peace to read this book.' 

'Oh, sorry,' mumbled Ginny. She paused for a few seconds before launching into another question. 'Do you know what house you'll be in yet?' 

'No,' said Ariadne shortly. 

'Oh,' said Ginny again. 'Maybe you'll be in Gryffindor with me, then I can show you around and keep you company until you find your feet.' 

'And why would I want that?' snapped Ariadne. 'I wouldn't want to hang around with you and your little friends, and I wouldn't be in Gryffindor if you paid me! They sound like a bunch of goodie goodies.' 

Ariadne didn't really mean the last part, after all, her father had been a Gryffindor. However, she had realised that insults would be the only way to get rid of Ginny. 

Ginny looked as if she was about to cry. 'I'm sorry to have bothered you,' she snapped back in a slightly shaky voice. 'I'll just leave you alone with your books and go and find the rest of my little goodie goodie friends!' 

She stormed out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her. 

* 

Late in the afternoon the train finally pulled into Hogsmeade station. Ariadne was about to collect up her things when the guard called to her, 'Don't worry about them miss, we'll bring them up later.' 

She climbed off the train and onto the platform. Ginny Weasley walked past with some of her Gryffindor friends and headed towards a group of horseless carriages that were waiting nearby. Ariadne was about to walk towards them to when a giant hand clamped onto her shoulder and she turned round to see a giant of a man staring down at her. He was at least twice her height and his hand took up the entire length of her shoulder with some to spare. 

'You'll be Miss Fortuna,' said the man. 'Seen a picture of yeh. You're comin' with me, across the lake with the other new students.' 

It turned out that the 'other new students' in question were all extremely nervy looking first years, all of whom jumped back when the man approached with Ariadne in tow. As he walked up to the side of the lake several small boats appeared, and he gestured for the first years to climb into them. 

There was soon just one boat left. 'Ah,' said the man. 'Seems we've not got enough boats - forgot yeh'd be comin', see. Oh well, yeh'll have to share mine.' And with that, he herded Ariadne into the one remaining boat. As he climbed in behind her, she felt the boat sink alarmingly, but he didn't seem too bothered by it. 

The boats moved off towards the castle. The man explained that his name was Rubeus Hagrid, and that he was keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Apparently a necessary role of a Keeper of the Keys was not minding if you got wet. For that is exactly what was happening. The boat was clearly not suitable for holding Hagrid and another person, and was rocking from side to side, throwing a lot of water over the sides and soaking Ariadne's new black cloak. 

They made it to the other side without the boat capsizing, though Ariadne was soaked to the skin and dripping large droplets of water all over the floor in the entrance hall of the castle. As they walked through the corridor to what appeared to be the Great Hall, the first years in front of her were chattering loudly and excitedly. Ariadne had had enough of them. She got out her wand and muttered, 'Quietus'. Instantly, the group of first years fell almost silent. 

'I suppose you think that's very clever Miss Fortuna,' came a voice from the doors of the Great Hall. A tall thin woman with her hair in a tight bun was standing there waiting for the group with a disapproving look on her face as she looked at Ariadne. 'I don't know what you are used to at Durmstrang, but here we do not allow this sort of behaviour. Kindly remove the spell please.' 

Ariadne glared up at the woman, then muttered 'Sonorus,' and the chatter resumed. 

The woman introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, deputy headteacher and head of Gryffindor house. She explained that the sorting was about to take place, and that they all had to place the sorting hat on their head to be sorted into their house. 'Right, ' she said when she had finished. 'If you'd all like to follow me please.' 

She opened the doors to the hall and a torrent of noise hit the group. They were led down the hall between two long tables, and told to line up along the front of the room. Professor McGonagall began to read of names, and one by one the terrified looking first years stepped up to the stool, put on the hat and waiting until it shouted out the name of their house. 

Once all the first years had been sorted, Professor McGonagall called out, 'Fortuna, Ariadne.' Ariadne stepped up to the stool, feeling she looked ridiculous. Everyone was looking at her, whispering and making the distinction that she was clearly not a first year. 

Ariadne sat down on the stool and put the hat on her head. A voice suddenly whispered in her ear, making her jump. 

'Hum, interesting, very interesting. A good mind, and plenty of courage, I can see that. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw blood, but I'm not sure you fit in there...' 

_Why not?_ Ariadne questioned the voice in her ear. She didn't like being told she didn't fit in. 

'I can see further into your mind than you realise,' said the voice. 'I can see right into your future... hum, yes, I think so.... you belong in...SLYTHERIN!' 

The last word was shouted out to the hall. The table on the far right cheered, but Ariadne's heart had plummeted. Slytherin? The bad house? This couldn't be right. Her father was a Gryffindor, her mother a Ravenclaw - how could she have ended up in Slytherin? 

Without realising, she had walked over to the table full of cheering students wearing green striped ties and badges on their robes emblazoned with a serpent, the symbol of Slytherin house. Slytherin? And what had the hat meant about seeing into her future? 

She sighed and looked up and down the table, catching sight of a boy slightly older than her with blonde hair, talking animatedly with two extremely large boys sitting on either side of him. As she stared, he turned to look at her, gave her a half smile and turned away. 


	5. Chapter 5

Ariadne had been at Hogwarts for a month and a half, and the novelty of it (if there ever was one) had definitely worn off. For a start, she didn't get on with most of the teachers. They didn't like her 'Durmstrang attitude', as Professor McGonagall had referred to it when talking to the other teachers in the staff room - Ariadne was listening outside using an eavesdropping spell she was sure was not allowed at Hogwarts. 

She wasn't doing well in her classes either. She had always been bad at Transfiguration, but the fact that Professor McGonagall seemed to hate her so much made it ten times worse. She was hopeless at Defence Against The Dark Arts as well, but this was because she refused to learn it. Professor Figg, the teacher for that lesson, wouldn't give up on Ariadne, and still insisted that she come and participate in demonstrations. Ariadne refused to every time, remaining in her seat staring stonily at her desk. 

Ariadne hated to admit it, but she was lonely at Hogwarts. She hadn't made any friends, and no one, from her own house or any other, made much of an effort to talk to her. Even the blonde boy who had smiled at her at the feast the first night she arrived at Hogwarts had ignored her ever since. Shame, she'd wanted to get to know him better. 

One of Ariadne's only comforts at Hogwarts was her collection of Dark Arts books; all the textbooks she'd used in her first three years at Durmstrang, and several highly dangerous books she'd picked up from dark bookshops without her parents' knowledge. Several contained highly dangerous and illegal spells, but Ariadne didn't care, she found them fascinating. She had smuggled them to Hogwarts under an invisibility spell, and they stayed locked in her trunk out of sight when she wasn't reading them. 

One evening in late October, Ariadne was sitting in the common room, on her own as usual. She was absorbed in one of the more dangerous dark arts books, and had her chair turned slightly away from the rest of the room so the other students couldn't see what she was reading. There was a group of male 5th years who kept trying to find out what she was up to, but she just curled up tighter in the chair and ignored them. 

The door to the common room opened, and a group of second year girls walked in, closely followed by a snowy owl Ariadne recognised as her own. Without thinking, she got up from the chair and went to read the message tied to Nivosus' leg. She unfolded it, and found that it was blank. Turning back to her chair, she realised why. 

The note had simply been a diversion to get her to get up from the chair and leave the book alone. As she turned back she saw a figure leaning towards the book and touching its front cover, about to open it. Without stopping to think, Ariadne grabbed her wand and screamed 'Araneus!' It wasn't until the spell hit the figure that she realised who it was; Draco Malfoy, the blonde boy who's attention she'd been trying to get since she arrived. Well, he'd certainly know who she was now. The spell had turned him into an enormous black tarantula. 

Panic ensued in the common room. People were shouting and screaming, and some of the more excitable students were running around trying to get away from the spider. Worried it was about to be crushed under someone's feet, Ariadne rushed forward and was about to pick the spider up when she heard the word, 'Accio!' shouted from behind her. The spider shot across the room, straight into Professor Snape's outstretched hand. 'Miss Fortuna,' he said in his cold, harsh voice. 'My office, now.' 

Ariadne didn't have much choice but to follow him. She quickly grabbed her Dark Arts book so no one else would look at it, then followed Snape out of the common room. 

Snape and Ariadne had never been the best of friends, but he didn't seem to hate her in the same way as the rest of the teachers at Hogwarts did. He seemed to sense intelligence in her, and ambition, and everything else that Slytherin house stood for. 

However, sitting behind his desk, trying to stop the wriggling spider from crawling away, Snape was staring at Ariadne with a look of pure loathing in his eyes. 'Miss Fortuna,' he began. 'Although I have no doubt that whatever Mr Malfoy did he deserved this, students do not take punishments in their own hands. Transfiguring a classmate into an arachnid may have been permissible at Durmstrang, but at Hogwarts it is strictly against the rules.' 

Ariadne let Snape continue with his ramblings, which were followed by threats of all the usual punishments; detention, suspension, cleaning frog guts off the underneath of the tables in dungeon 2 every Sunday until Christmas Ariadne blocked out his voice after a while. She was remembering the shocked look on Draco Malfoy's face as the spell had hit him. Damn her stupid temper! There was no way he'd ever like her now. 

'in dungeon 2 every Sunday until Christmas. You may go.' Snape finished, as Ariadne jolted herself back to reality. She turned and walked out of the door of the office, trying to remember exactly what he'd been saying, when she heard footsteps running up behind her. She turned to see Draco Malfoy, back in human form, trying to catch up with her. 'In here,' he hissed, pulling her into an empty classroom. Ariadne followed him in, feeling slightly confused. Was he about to get revenge on her for the spider business? 

Draco closed the door and turned to face Ariadne. 'I'm sorry about the book thing,' he said. 'I just wanted to find out more about you. I've been watching you ever since you arrived here, and I like you.' Ariadne stared in amazement as he lifted her hand and kissed it. Then he turned slowly and walked out of the room. Ariadne was left to stare into space, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Draco Malfoy liked her! She had turned him into a spider and nearly got him flattened, but he still liked her! She sat down on a nearby desk, smiling happily to herself. 

However, she might not have been so happy if she'd seen the look on Draco's face as he left the room; one of deviousness, cunning, and satisfaction. 


	6. Chapter 6

          Over the next few weeks, Draco and Ariadne became inseparable. They sat together at mealtimes in the Great Hall and in the evenings in the common room. They wandered round Hogsmeade hand in hand with dreamy expressions on their faces, and sneaked out at night for moonlit walks in the Hogwarts grounds. They had nearly been caught kissing behind Greenhouse 3 by Filch on several occasions, but were saved by one of Ariadne's carefully placed invisibility spells; her speciality.

          Christmas was fast approaching, but Ariadne wasn't happy about it. She would be going home for 2 weeks – 2 weeks without Draco. She wasn't sure she could cope. They had only been together for a few weeks, but she was sure she was falling in love with him.

          The answer to her problem came by owl one Friday morning, two weeks before Christmas. Nivosus swooped into the Great Hall, accompanied by another owl Ariadne recognised as her mother's. Between them they were supporting a large parcel, which they dropped on the table in front of Ariadne, a split second after she moved her bowl of cereal out of the way. She tore the paper away, to reveal a large box and an envelope. Ariadne picked up the letter, opened it, and began to read.

          It explained that she and Alexander had been invited back to Norway for Christmas to spend the holiday with some friends. Ariadne, of course, was welcome, but if she didn't want to go with them, then they understood. It also explained that the parcel contained Ariadne's Christmas present. If she wanted to go with her parents to Norway, then she was to bring the parcel back with her on the train, and that if she didn't want to go, that she was to save it until Christmas.

          Ariadne, being ever so slightly impatient, began to rip at the parcel. However, she found that the paper wouldn't tear. She couldn't get into it. Every time she clawed at the parcel, her fingers slipped off its surface, much to Draco's amusement.

          Throwing Draco a mock-angry look, Ariadne turned the box over and found a tag. It read, 'Dear Ariadne, Happy Christmas. Don't try to open this before Christmas Day – it's fitted with an anti-pre-Christmas opening spell. Lots of love, Mum and Dad.'

          Pouting, Ariadne picked up the letter and re-read it, a smile spreading across her face. She could spend Christmas with Draco after all! Turning to tell him, she saw his eagle owl arrive with a letter for him. He opened it, read it, then looked up at Ariadne.

          'Are you still spending Christmas with your parents?' he asked.

'It's just that I've told father all about you and he's dying to meet you.'

          'No, I'm not,' smiled Ariadne. They're going to Norway and say that I don't have to go with them. Are you saying…'

          'Would you like to spend Christmas with me?' Draco asked her. Ariadne kissed him, which was all the answer he needed.

*

          Through her delight, Ariadne hadn't noticed the pair of eyes scowling at her down the table that morning. Nor had she noticed them glaring across the common room at her that evening. They watched her sitting with Draco, tucked away in a corner. They watched her kiss him goodnight. And they watched her climb the stairs, as the owner of the pair of eyes followed her.

          Ariadne was just passing the 5th year's dormitory when a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her into the room. It was dark and empty, except for the person who had just pulled her in and magically locked the door. Ariadne was pushed roughly into a corner.

          'Lumos,' muttered the figure, and in the wandlight that appeared, Ariadne saw the face of a girl she knew to be a year older than herself. A face Ariadne had always thought looked rather like that of a pug, or similar dog.

          'Hello Ariadne,' said Pansy Parkinson, her wand now pointing directly between Ariadne's eyes. 'I've been watching you recently, and I don't like what I see.'

          Growing panicky, Ariadne didn't respond.

          'I'm talking about you and Draco,' Pansy hissed nastily. 'He was all mine until you turned up here, and now you've lured him away. What are you, a Veela or something?'

          Pansy looked Ariadne up and down, taking in her slim figure, perfectly positioned eyes and long, smooth blonde hair. Ariadne hated to admit it, but she did look scarily like a Veela.

          'I'm not a Veela,' she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady.

          'Well I can't see any other reason for him to fall for you,' sneered Pansy, pressing the wand into Ariadne's skin until she squeaked with pain. 'You'd better listen to me Durmstrang,' she said, shining the wand light in Ariadne's eyes. 'Draco Malfoy is trouble. He's not worth the hassle he can cause you. Trust me Ariadne, he's dangerous.'

          'If he's so dangerous, why do you want him back so much?' said Ariadne in a low voice. 'If you're trying to warn me off him Parkinson, it's not working.' Ariadne's hand was reaching for her wand. 'He's made his decision, and he chose me. Deal with it.'

          With that, Ariadne pushed Pansy backwards and shouted, 'Expelliarmus!' Pansy flew across the room, her wand shooting away in another direction. Ariadne didn't stop to see if she was alright. She ran to the door, cried, 'Alohamora!' and the door burst open. She ran to her dormitory, jumped onto her bed and pulled the hangings closed around her.

          Had Pansy's warning been genuine? Or was she simply trying to scare Ariadne? Well, if the latter was true, it had worked. She was desperately trying to keep herself steady, but it wasn't working.

          As the fear began to ebb away, it was replaced by rational thoughts. Who cared what Pansy Parkinson said? She was just jealous. Ariadne loved Draco and he loved her, she was spending Christmas at Malfoy Manor, and nothing else mattered. 


	7. Chapter 7

Christmas with the Malfoys was a lavish event. An enormous table was set out in the large, echoy dining hall, containing every type of food imaginable, with seemingly more to eat than was humanely possible for 4 people. A well-decorated tree stood every room in the house, varying in size from a relatively small 5 foot one in the bathroom to a ludicrously tall 50-foot tree in the grounds. Presents came by the thousands, with Ariadne's pile of ten from her parents and relatives looking positively meagre compared to Draco's stack, which must have contained at least a hundred. Either he had a large family, mused Ariadne, or he was simply well loved by his dear, long suffering parents. 

After the presents had been opened and the food consumed (both very long processes), Draco's parents relaxed in the large sitting room, awaiting their guests who were due to arrive for a dinner dance that evening. Draco meanwhile, dragged Ariadne to the spacious drawing room, pushed her inside and locked the door. 

Looking slightly apprehensive, Ariadne turned to look at Draco, expecting him to be advancing on her with an expectant look in his eyes, but instead he was over in the corner of the room, lifting a large Persian rug off the floor and out of the way, revealing a trap door set into the wooden floor. He looked up, beckoned silently to Ariadne, and opened the door. 

Still feeling apprehensive, Ariadne walked across the room to where Draco stood. On closer inspection, the trapdoor was actually quite large, and had a set of stone steps leading down into the darkness below. Draco began to descend the steps, and when he was halfway down, he looked up at Ariadne. "Come on Fortuna, you're not scared are you?" Determined to prove to Draco that there was no way she was scared of walking through a hidden trapdoor and down a set of stone steps in what appeared from here to be a bottomless pit, Ariadne followed him down the steps. 

About ten steps ahead of her, Ariadne heard Draco mutter, "Lumos," and a tiny dot of light sprang out through the darkness. She did the same, watching the beam of light descend the steps ahead of her. When it finally stopped moving downwards, she realised Draco had reached the bottom of the steps and soon joined him. Draco muttered, "Estellaros," and thousands of tiny stars sprang from his wand tip and attached themselves to the walls around the pair, lighting up the small underground room they were in. 

Ariadne couldn't explain it, but she suddenly felt a strange sensation come over her. As the light from the tiny stars filled the room, it illuminated various objects lining the walls and covering the floors. These objects however were still in shadow, despite the room glowing with light. It was as if they were absorbing the light, rather than reflecting it. 

"Go on, have a look around," whispered Draco, and suddenly the sensation Ariadne had experienced grew stronger, almost as if she were being pulled to the objects in front of her. As she got closer, she could just make out numerous bookshelves, several cloaks and robes hanging from the wall and a pile of what looked disturbingly like human body parts, twisted into grotesque shapes. 

If Ariadne had not been so engrossed with the objects, she might have heard footsteps coming softly down the stone stairs. She might have noticed the face of Lucius Malfoy illuminated in the starlight, and how the shadows that fell across his gave him a slightly demonic appearance. She might also have noticed the look that passed between father and son, the expression of triumph on Lucius' face not dissimilar to that on his son's, and the evil gleam in his eye that was suggestive of the plans forming in his mind. However, before Ariadne could tear herself away from the objects in front of her, Lucius gave a small hiss of pain, clutched his left forearm, and vanished with a small pop, leaving Draco and Ariadne alone in the small room once more. 

*****

****

On a cold, dark hillside, above a tiny village, a silent group of dark figures stood, watching, waiting. The atmosphere was tense as a lone figure walked slowly round the ring they formed. 

Every now and then the figure would stop, look at one of the assembled group and speak briefly. It was impossible to see who the people forming the circle were – their faces were covered, and not one knew the identity of the others surrounding them. However, they all knew the prowling figure, and they all feared his power. 

The figure, who had walked past several people in succession, stopped abruptly in front of a tall, slender member of the group. Instead of talking briefly without turning round, the figure turned to face the person with whom he wished to speak. 

"I hear you have news for me Lucius," said the figure in a voice that sounded more like the hiss of a snake than anything human. Lucius nodded. "Well, spit it out then," hissed the figure. 

"My Lord, you are trying to recruit new people, new blood, to replace that shed in the past conflict." 

"I know that Lucius." The voice was as cold as ice this time. "Don't waste my time by telling me things I know. You know the penalty for wasting my time" 

"I apologise my Lord," said Lucius hurriedly. "It's just I" he faltered. "I have found you someone." 

The snake-like slits that served as the figure's eyes narrowed. "Tell me more" he said, a vague note of interest in his voice now. 

"Well, she is 14," began Lucius, but he was interrupted. 

"She is too young. She cannot possibly know enough, and she will be untrustworthy" 

"I have seen her perform the Imperius curse to great effect my Lord!" persisted Lucius. "She knows more than anyone else of her age – she was taught the Dark Arts at Durmstrang by Karkaroff, she," 

"Silence!" The shriek pierced the air. "Not only did you interrupt me, but you mentioned the name of that traitor. You know the punishment Lucius" 

Lucius' pleading was cut short as a piercing scream filled the air. The hooded figures watched, half in amusement, half in terror, all knowing they could be next. 

Eventually the curse was removed, and Lucius lay on the ground twitching. 

"Get up Lucius you pathetic worm," sneered the voice. "Very well, tell the traitor's protégé to prove to me that she can truly do as you say she can. Make her prove her allegiance to Lord Voldemort. And woe betide you if she can't Lucius" 

Lucius jumped back slightly as the figure's long, talon-like fingers caressed the wand in his hands. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Draco, come on, now," snapped Ariadne one evening a few weeks into the term. She swept past the chair in which Draco was sat, heading for the door. Grudgingly, Draco got up and followed her. They walked out of the common room, out from the dungeons, and up the marble staircase. 

The routine had been the same every evening since they'd arrived back at Hogwarts two weeks ago. Draco would be sitting peacefully in his chair, putting off doing his homework, telling Crabbe and Goyle how thick they were, or not reading a book, when Ariadne would come along and drag him off to some deserted room or other. Once they were both locked inside with a silencing spell around the door, Ariadne began to practice. 

When Lucius Malfoy had returned on the evening of Christmas Day, he had called Ariadne into his study. He had explained about his allegiance with Lord Voldemort, how he was convinced that Ariadne would be a perfect Death Eater, and how all they had to do now was convince Voldemort of this. 

At first Ariadne hadn't been too keen, especially when she had found out about the considerable punishment awaiting both of them if she couldn't learn to perform the Unforgivable Curses. But then Lucius had found a way to convince her. From his pocket, he had produced a ring, made up of two serpents whose heads crossed on the front. Each serpent's eye was made up of a single emerald imbedded within the silver. 

Lucius had slipped the ring onto Ariadne's finger, and instantly she had experienced the rush she had felt down in the secret chamber below the drawing room floor, when she had been surrounded by the hoards of dark objects stored down there. However, this time the feeling didn't go away. It stayed with her, and as long as she wore the ring, she felt powerful, strong, and almost... connected to the Dark Side. From that moment on, she could think of nothing but learning to perform the curses so she would be accepted by the Dark Lord. 

So with the assistance of Draco and numerous spiders, butterflies and other bugs of various descriptions, Ariadne had mastered the Imperius curse and the Cruciatus curse, and had almost got the hang of Avada Kedavara. Each time she performed it however, the spider that was supposed to be dead still twitched and several made it back onto their feet, until Ariadne stepped on them in frustration. 

Draco had been the unwilling volunteer to have the Imperius curse practised on. He had so far been subjected to, amongst other things, dancing the cancan, pretending to be a dragon, leapfrogging over the desk, and, Ariadne's favourite, kissing a terrified-looking rat she had found in the corner of the room. Much to Draco's relief, she had mastered that curse, but he hadn't managed to master fighting it off. 

On this particular evening, Ariadne was desperate to perfect Avada Kedavara. Having reduced at least 10 spiders to quivering wrecks, she came to a conclusion. 

"I know why I can't get this Draco," she said, as Draco threw the remains of the last spider out of the window. "It's because I have no desire for the spider to be dead. I have to want to kill it with all of my being. I need something else to try on, something I can really hate." She paused for a second. "I've got it," she said suddenly, a wicked glint in her eyes. "That Gryffindor mudblood. The one that tripped me as I came out of the Great Hall this morning. He'll do nicely." 

Draco's head flew round to face Ariadne. "A human? A real person? I... I... What makes you so sure you can kill a person when you can't manage a spider properly?" 

"Because, Draco," she replied nastily moving closer with every word, "I _know_ I can do it. Don't you dare doubt me, or you know what I'll do." 

Draco backed away, looking terrified. "Now go and get me that MUDBLOOD!" she yelled. "And don't come back without him, or I may have to find someone else to practice on..." Draco shot out of the room like a rabbit. 

*****

Draco was fuming as he walked through the corridors towards Gryffindor Tower. He had no idea how he was going to get the boy back to the classroom, let alone how he was going to get into the common room in the first place. He stopped, a plan forming in his mind. Why should he do all this for her anyway? Why should he run around after her, help her learn all these dark curses and be a guinea pig for her to experiment on? 

With these thoughts running through his mind, he turned sharply on his heel and walked quickly down the nearest staircase. Why should she be allowed to boss him around? He was a year older than her after all. He rounded another corner, heading for the staff room. Yes, that's what he's do. He'd get a member of staff, preferably Snape, or McGonagall, to come down to the classroom and find out exactly what Ariadne was doing. Then she'd be thrown out of the school and he wouldn't have to put up with her anymore. 

Draco had to admit it; a lot of what he was feeling was jealousy. His dad had given Ariadne the Dark Lord's ring, when by rights, if anyone should have had it, it should have been him. And then, as if that wasn't bad enough, his father had instructed, no, ordered him to help Ariadne learn the Unforgivables, assisting in any way possible. Well, he'd had enough now. He wasn't going to be ordered around any more. Not by his father, not by Ariadne, not by anyone. Ariadne had changed dramatically since Christmas. She wasn't the girl he'd fooled around with last term, the girl he'd brought home with him for the holidays. She was someone different. She had changed, and he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. And the first step to getting rid of her was to get her thrown out of Hogwarts. 

As Draco rounded the corner by the staff room, he expected the corridor ahead of him to be empty. But it wasn't. Ariadne was standing a few feet ahead of him, blocking his path to the door. She looked directly into his eyes, and spoke. 

"Well, it looks like I've caught the real Golden Snitch now, doesn't it?" 


End file.
